Roller bearing



Sept. 19,1941.

.1. w. I OLEY T ROLLER BEARING Filed Dec. 9, l9 10 Patented Sept. 9, 1941 "siren STAT-ES FATE Claims.

This invention relates to'improvements in roller bearings and oneof the objects of the same is toprovide an improved roller bearing wherein the rollers are of atapered construction, the periphery ofeach of which isconcaved to I conform to the contour of convexed bearing surfaces of the inner and outer bearing or race members and in which the extremities of the rollers overlie or project beyond'the pointof contact of the rollers of the bearing surfaces, whereby to provide a reinforcement or protection of theends of the rollers to prevent the crushing or-breaking down of the metal-or material at the end of the I roller, when load contact creates a pressure thereupon.

A further object is' to provide an improved bearing of thischaracter in which'the outer ring I or bearingmember isof a sectional construction, I and improved means for securing thesections together.

To the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other new and usefulobjects as I will appear; theinvention consists in the features of novelty in substantially the construction; combination and arrangement of the several parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawingillustrating this-invention, and in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional viewof a bearing of this characterconstructedinaccordance with the principles of this invention.

Figure 2 is aside elevation of the-sectional ring for securing the outerbearing-members together.

I Figure 3 is an enlarged-detail fragmentary view of a portion of one of theouter bearing members and of the securingmembers.

Referring more particularly to the-drawing, the numeral I8 designates generally an inner bearing member which is provided with an outer convexed surface II which is formed on-anarc extending lengthwise of the axis thereof, and: this bearing member may be mounted upon a reduced end [2 of a shaft'l3 and abuts a shoulderl i. The bearing member isheld against displacement preferably by a nut or collar" I5 threaded upon a portion of the shaft and cooperates with the shoulder 14.

The periphery of the bearing member is formed on an arc described from thediametric center 16 of the bearing member.

An outer annular bearingmember-encompasses the bearing member Ill and this outer. bearing member is formed of two sections l1l Biabutting 4 each other andthesections-are' held together 1 preferably-by means of two semi -circular chan nel shapedmember 19 which are preferably formedof a ductile material.

I Each of the membersll|8'-is provided in-its I periphery adjacent theouter surfacethereofwith a recess 2l3,"the' bottom'2l' of which is inclined downwardly and inwardly and the inner wall -22 of I therecess extends downwardly and inwardly terminating adjacent the bottom wall-2 I;

The walls 23 of the members 19- are provided I with a straight inner wall 24-- and an outwardly inclined wall 25, and the extremity 26 orea'chof these walls inclines downwardly and inwardly terminating in a point 21 at the junction with the wall.

The area of the" space between the walls-24 0f the member I9 is such that when the members I1-'-l8- are assembled,- the wall 24- will pass the adjacent extremity or the wall- 22- so that the walls-23 contact the bottom =2I ofthe recess 20. A further pressure orforcing of the member -18 ends'23 'of"the--member '-'l9 will enterthe recess 20 until the extremity 21-of I the bottom of the 7 into position causes-thewall 23 of the channel member to assume a configurationto conform to the contour of--the recess-20 and so that apertion of the wall -23 will beforced into closecontact with the wall 220i the recess.

These members 19 being of ductile material may be readily removed when it is desired to separate the-bearing members I 8.-

I Each of the bearing *members l'll8---- is so shaped that when they are assembled and secured together by the-securing element l 9 there will be I formed a recess 28 in-proximity to the=bearing surface l l'of the memberllland the surfaces '29 of the wall of the recess are convexed and are formed on arcsdescribed on the same:radius and from a point in alinement with thepoint -fi 'lEl on such radius, the contact surfaces 29 invthe members 11-"! terminate short ofeach'other.

I A recess 30 is formed between the members "l1-'l8 for a purposetobe =clescrib'ed;-- Each of and 'these extremitiesare respectively tapered as at- 32-33 and project intothe recess28. This construction provides 1 an extra amountiof' material at the end of the rollers beyond their-icontact points withtlie bearinglsurfacesaand ise,pro-

vided for the purpose of reinforcing the ends of the rollers and lessening the possibility of crushing or breaking down of the metal at the ends of the rollers at these bearing points when load contact exerts pressure thereupon.

Furthermore, these tapered extremities will serve as a means for facilitating lubrication.

The walls 34-35 of the outer bearing member terminate short of the surface ll of the inner bearing member Ill and packing 36 may be provided in the extremitie of these walls to prevent the entrance of foreign matter into the recess 28 and to maintain the lubricant against escape.

Stops or projections 31 may be provided on the inner bearing member ID so that when the outer bearing ring ||-|8 and the inner bearing H! and shaft l3 are angularly displaced with each other such angular displacement will be limited by the stops to prevent separation of the parts yet providing a self-alining bearing.

Within the recess 30 in the outer bearing member is an annular ring or bearing member 39, the inner surface of which is inclined downwardly from the central point thereof and against such surface 39 double conical rollers 40 rest. These rollers 40 are disposed between adjacent pairs of rollers 3| and contact the tapered or beveled portions 32 at the proximate ends of adjacent and opposite rollers and serve the purpose of maintaining the rollers 3| in proper spaced relation.

With this construction the bearing ring or member 38 will be floating but the rollers 49 will have a constant rolling contact therewith and also with portions of the respective adjacent rollers 3|. I

A lubrication opening 4| may be provided through one of the walls 34-35 of the outer bearing member and a similar lubrication opening 42 may be provided through such walls but on the opposite side from the first lubrication opening. These openings may be respectively closed by suitable removable closures 43-44.

These closures may be removed in order to permit of the insertion of a lubricant into the recess or chamber 28. When it is desired to clean the bearing and to remove the lubricant, the closures 43-44 and the contents of the recess or chamber 28 may be forced therefrom by directing fluid under pressure through the opening 4|, thereby forcing the lubricant out through the other of the openings 42.

In the present invention the extremities 32-33 of the rollers will be maintained out of contact with the bearing surfaces ||-29 and the rollers 3| being of concave shape will cooperate with the convexed bearing surfaces l|-29, will assist in maintaining the rollers against longitudinal shifting movement with respect to their bearing surfaces under abnormal conditions. When the bearing member ID or the outer bearing members |'|-|8 are angularly displaced one with respect to the other, there will be a relative movement of the rollers 3| and the bearing surfaces 29 or II one with relation to the other in directions lengthwise with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rollers 3|.

By the provision of the concaved surface of the rollers 3| which engage the convexed bearing surface II and the respective surfaces 29, these rollers will be maintained in proper position between such bearing surfaces without a wedging action, thereby materially reducing friction.

The annular floating ring 38 is provided with a cut-away portion 380, to provide bearing surfaces 38b for the rollers 40, and these surfaces 38b are substantially equal to the bearing surfaces of the rollers 40 against the proximate tapered ends of the rollers 3|.

While the preferred form of the invention has been herein shown and described, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in the details of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, within the scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A roller bearing embodying an inner and an annular outer bearing member, rollers between said members, the bearing surfaces of said members being convexed in directions lengthwise of the axis of the bearing, the said rollers being tapered and provided with a concave periphery contacting said surfaces, the extremities of the rollers overhanging and out of contact with said surfaces and being tapered in directions towards the extremities of the rollers, an annular fioating bearing member encompassing and spaced from the proximate ends of the adjacent rollers, rollers contacting said floating member and the tapered ends of the adjacent first said rollers, the outer bearing member being of sectional construction, and means for securing said sections together.

2. A roller bearing embodying an inner and an annular outer bearing member, rollers between said members, the bearing surfaces of said members being convexed in directions lengthwise of the axis of the bearing, the said rollers being tapered and provided with a concave periphery contacting said surface, the extremities of the rollers overhanging and out of contact with said surfaces and being tapered in directions towards the extremities of the rollers, an annular floating bearing member encompassing and spaced from the proximate ends of the adjacent rollers, rollers contacting said floating member and the tapered ends of the adjacent first said rollers, the outer bearing member being of sectional construction, and means for securing said sections together, the rollers which have contact with the said floating member and the adjacent ends of the first said rollers being tapered from the longitudinal center thereof in opposite directions towards the ends thereof.

3. A roller bearing embodying an inner and an annular outer bearing member, rollers between said members, the bearing surfaces of said members being convexed in directions lengthwise of the axis of the bearing, the said rollers being tapered and provided with a concave periphery contacting said surface, the extremities of the rollers overhanging and out of contact with said surfaces and being tapered in directions towards the extremities of the rollers, an annular floating bearing member encompassing and spaced from the proximate ends of the adjacent rollers, rollers contacting said floating member and the tapered ends of the adjacent first said rollers, the outer bearing member being of sectional construction, and means for securing said sections together, the bearing surfaces on the inner face of the outer bearing member being laterally spaced from each other, and the said rollers which contact the said floating bearing member being disposed in the space between the last said bearing surfaces.

4. A roller bearing embodying an inner and an annular outer bearing member, rollers between said members, the bearing surfaces of said members being convexed in directions lengthwise of the axis of the bearing, the said rollers being tapered and provided with a concave periphery contacting said surface, the extremities of the rollers overhanging and out of contact with said surfaces and being tapered in directions towards the extremities of the rollers, an annular floating bearing member encompassing and spaced from the proximate ends of the adjacent rollers, rollers contacting said floating member and the tapered ends of the adjacent first said rollers, the outer bearing member being of sectional construction, and means for securing said sections together, the said securing means being of channel formation and extending substantialy across the outer periphery of the outer bearing member and disposed within the planes of the lateral faces of said outer bearing member.

5. A roller bearing embodying an inner and an annular outer bearing member, rollers between said members, the bearing surfaces of said members being convexed in directions lengthwise of the axis of the bearing, the said rollers being tapered and provided with a concave periphery contacting said surface, the extremities of the rollers overhanging and out of contact with said surfaces and being tapered in directions towards the extremities of the rollers, an annular floating bearing member encompassing and spaced from the proximate ends of the adjacent rollers, rollers contacting said floating member and the tapered ends of the adjacent first said rollers, the outer bearing member being of sectional construction, and means for securing said sections together, the bearing surfaces of the inner and outer bearing members being described on the same radius.

JOHN W. FOLEY. 

